It will be the No. 1 seed facing a very unexpected finalist when Taylor Fritz and Aleksandar Vukic battle for the Atlanta Open title on Sunday afternoon.
Fritz is obviously a considerable favorite as the ninth-ranked player in the world and a veteran of the business end of ATP 250 tournaments. The 25-year-old American has played in 10 ATP finals and has won five of them–three 250s, Tokyo (2022), and the Indian Wells Masters (2022). He finished runner-up in Atlanta to Alex de Minaur four years ago and can go one step farther this time around following victories earlier in the week over Yibing Wu, Kei Nishikori, and J.J. Wolf.
The story is a much different one for Vukic. Ranked 82nd in the world, the 27-year-old Australian had been 3-8 on the main tour in 2023 and 11-19 lifetime heading into Atlanta. Suddenly, Vukic has put his big-hitting game all together and booked his spot in a first-ever ATP final by beating Ethan Quinn, Yoshihito Nishioka, Chris Eubanks, and Ugo Humbert.
Whereas Fritz has not yet dropped a set at this event, Vukic came back from a set down against both Nishioka and Humbert.
“It’s going to be a tough match (against Fritz), for sure,” the former University of Illinois standout said following his 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-5 upset of Humbert on Saturday night. “He’s a hell of a player, top 10 in the world, and the U.S. No. 1 player. I just need to serve well and return well and play like I did in the second and third set. I think anything’s possible in this environment.”
Vukic was referencing the quick conditions that favor big servers and can make the margins small in pretty much any matchup. That gives the underdog a fighting chance, but all indications point to Fritz taking home his sixth ATP title and first in Atlanta.
Pick: Fritz in 2
who ya got?
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